Religious Bigotry and Media Bias in NY City Council Race CD-19

Written by Phil OrensteincloseAuthor: philorenstein Name: Phil Orenstein
Email: maduroman@att.net
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New York City Council District 19 Candidate, Dan Halloran

The New York City Council race in District 19 between Dan Halloran (R,C,I,L) and Kevin Kim (D) has implications that ripple far beyond the compass of Northeast Queens.  The press ignores the real issues plaguing the residents. The disruption caused by high taxes, fiscal irresponsibility, City Council ACORN and WFP slush funds, overdevelopment, English as a forgotten language, and a mounting deficit that will reach $3 billion in the next year, has triggered the mass exodus of millions fleeing New York City. These are the issues that Halloran, a Constitutionalist fighter for liberty, will take to City Hall to restore economic prosperity to the Big Apple.

Instead the media is having a field day covering the dirty politics of the Kim campaign and their un-American religious inquisition into Dan Halloran’s affiliation with the pre-Christian pagan religion of Theodism. Our country was founded upon the principles of religious liberty, stretching back to the Puritans who came to America to escape religious persecution in old Europe, leading to the protection of religious freedom in the Constitution and the clause prohibiting religious tests for public office. These protections were reinforced in the public mind when JFK declared in 1960 that he was not the Catholic candidate for president and that he does not speak for the Church on public matters. But the malicious tactics of his adversaries backfired in attempting to make his Catholic religion a public issue.

Like the established state religions of the Old World and the English colonies, today’s established Democratic Party machine maintains the authority to bar an opposing candidate on any grounds including religious, in order to preserve one party rule in New York City. Their religious bigotry suffused the weekly pages of the multi-ethnic community newspaper, Rep. Gary Ackerman’s (D-Bayside) media arm, the Queens Tribune, which he founded. The front cover showed a celebration of Kevin Kim’s primary victory in September as the “Democratic Victor” vs. Dan Halloran the “Pagan Lord.” Responding to a flurry of outraged readers, Editor Michael Schenkler wrote non-stop weekly op-eds asserting that the public has the right to know Halloran’s religion.  It should be noted that Kim works for Rep. Ackerman as his Deputy Director of Community Affairs, and the Tribune’s sister firm, Multi-Media Corp. handles Kim’s political campaign advertizing. Smelling blood, The Village Voice, the Daily News and other metropolitan tabloids picked up on the vulgar theme of religious discrimination against Halloran.

But the propagandists of the media won’t allow the public’s right to know the suspicious foreign sources of funding pouring into Kim’s coffers, 80% of which comes from outside the District. The residents of Northeast Queens have a right to know if their community will be sold out to wealthy developers and bankers who are funding Kim’s campaign. They have a right to an investigation of the Kim campaign links and funneling of money to WFP, ACORN and the G-20 Summit Anarchists, who work for Kim’s campaign. Isn’t the public entitled to civic minded reporters who investigate the critical issues that trump Halloran’s religion? Isn’t the public entitled to an expose of the dirty politics of the Kim campaign replete with tactics of slashing and stealing Halloran lawn signs, religious attack ads mailed to residents and signs demeaning Halloran’s religion instead of focusing on the issues?

The ultimate test of media bias in reporting the CD-19 campaign came on Sunday when Halloran supporters, two dozen strong crashed a Kevin Kim rally at Bay Terrace Shopping Center, where US Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Assemblyman Mark Weprin (D-Bellerose), Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing), other Democratic party leaders came to give big endorsements to Kim. Schumer brought out NY1 News, the Daily News and others which totally ignored the Halloran supporters and Tea Party patriots chanting “Schumer’s gotta go” and “Halloran” and “read the Constitution.”  The media ignored Halloran supporter, Anthony Carollo charging the Kim campaign with “religious bigotry” and asking the crowd out loud: “what is Kim’s religion?” and “I’m a Muslim running for office, investigate my religion!” The media ignored the passionate arguments and confrontations with the police and the loud chants which shortened Schumer’s speech and sent him angrily departing wishing he had never accepted the invitation to endorse this two bit local politician, to have his own name dragged through the mud by Tea Party revelers. The media also ignored the jubilant Halloran/Tea Party team singing “God Bless America” after Schumer left.

Only the Kevin Kim interviews and the few speakers who weren’t shouted down appeared on the evening NY1 news. To add insult to injury, the media covered a much smaller Kim rally the same day in front of the Queens Republican Party HQ showing Kim supporters accusing Halloran of anti-Semitism and animal sacrifice.  However the political propagandists of the media will find that their vicious little ploys for their candidates will ultimately backfire as did the malicious tactics to undermine JFK on the basis of his religion.